Trump impeachment trial begins in Senate

The impeachment trial of Donald Trump opened in the US Senate on January 16, as lawmakers took a solemn oath to be “impartial” in deciding whether to force the 45th US president from office. For just the third time in American history, the Senate chamber was transformed into a court of impeachment, presided over by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who administered the oath to senators. Earlier, the two articles of impeachment - charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress - were read out. Trump has ridiculed the impeachment process for months, and he responded to the opening of the trial by once more branding it a “hoax”. The Democratic-controlled House impeached Trump on December 18. But Trump’s acquittal is widely expected in the Republican-dominated Senate.

Nirbhaya case convict’s mercy plea rejected

President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four men facing the gallows in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. The rejection came after the home ministry forwarded the petition to the President. Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2013. They were to be hanged on January 22, a Delhi court had announced while issuing their death warrants. However, the Delhi government informed the high court during a hearing that the execution of the convicts will not take place on the designated day as a mercy plea had been filed by Mukesh. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s office sent Mukesh Singh’s mercy petition to the home ministry on January 16, a day after the Delhi government recommended its rejection.

SC dismisses telcos’ plea on AGR review

The Supreme Court has dismissed the review petitions of top telecom firms including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea seeking review of its earlier order asking them to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past statutory dues by January 23. The apex court had on October 24 ruled that statutory dues need to be calculated by including non-telecom revenues in what is known as adjusted gross revenues (AGR) of telcos. The telecom companies had sought an open court hearing on their review petition but the Supreme Court decided to stick to its convention of doing an in-chamber hearing. The apex court had on October 24 last year upheld the AGR definition formulated by the DoT and termed as “frivolous” the nature of objections raised by telecom service providers.

Punjab Assembly moves anti-CAA resolution

The Congress-led Punjab government moved a resolution in the Assembly on January 17 demanding that the central government scrap the Citizenship Amendment Act. “The CAA enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country. The state of Punjab also witnessed protests against this legislation, which were peaceful and involved all segments of our society,” Minister Brahm Mohindra said while reading out the resolution. After Kerala, Punjab is the second state to pass a resolution against the CAA. The resolution said the amended law on citizenship seeks to negate the secular fabric on which the Constitution is based. It said the CAA is aimed at distinguishing between illegal migrants on the basis of religion, which is not permissible under the Constitution.

China birth rate hits lowest level since 1949

China’s birth rate dropped last year to its lowest level since the country was founded in 1949, adding to concerns that an ageing society and shrinking workforce will pile pressure on a slowing economy. To avoid a demographic crisis, the government relaxed its one-child policy in 2016 to allow people to have two children, but the change has not resulted in more pregnancies. In 2019, the birth rate stood at 10.48 per 1,000 people, according to official data. There were 14.65 million babies born in 2019, after 15.23 million in 2018 and 17.23 million in 2017. Still, China’s population stood at 1.4 billion in 2019, increasing by 4.67 million from the year before. There were 896.4 million people aged between 16 and 59 - its population of working age - a drop from the 897.3 million in 2018.

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